Three Ways to Pin Down Your Target Market in Your Lunch Break

In my previous post, I reminded you that your business has a soul mate. In this article, I’ll call them your BSM.

I’m going to tell you something else, that I’m sure you already know.

The normal target market definition questionnaires are boring.

I’m not saying don’t do them- do, but while they give you metrics, they don’t give you personality.

The fact that I have ten years experience in my field, shop at woolworths and live in a three bedroom house says something about me, metrically, but the thing that’s going to lure me in to buy something from you doesn’t lie in knowing that, it lies in knowing who I am, not what I’m made up of.

Here’s a few ways to pin that person down.

One: What do they look like?

I don’t mean average height, weight and age here. I mean specifics. Connect to your BSM by appealing to his preference of Blüchers over Oxfords when it comes to the shoes he wears, or her choice of Wayfarers over Aviators when it comes to sunglasses.

Spend a little time playing with something like Polyvore. Put together what your BSM wears to work, play, and out to lunch on a Sunday. This narrows down where they might shop, and why, and allows you to position your product right in the midst of it.

Two: Where do they live?

Nope, not “women between the ages of 33 and 41 on average have two children, are married and live in a suburb with house prices between $300,000 and $400,000.” Put on your BSM’s shoes (even if they’re crocs) and take a look through your local real estate pages and find the house of their dreams.

This will be different for every person, even if they’re in similar demographics. Does your BSM go for minimalism, love the lines of a Victorian terrace, or go for the 60’s Californian bungalow? Do they live in leafy Hobart or the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney? Will they spend their lives there? Are they renting, or are they setting up for the rest of their lives?

Three: What do they listen to?

Does your BSM even like music? Do they consistently listen to whatever is on the local Top 40 radio station, or do they have feelings about the significance of Wagner? Did they have a big thing for Gwen Stefani back in the mid nineties but they’re too ashamed to tell anyone about it? Are your BSM and their latest ex never, ever getting back together? Do they wake up early just to snag tickets to Splendour in the Grass online before they sell out? Use the playlist function on youtube to make a quick list of the music they absolutely love. Bonus nerdy points if you use it for inspiration by listening to the playlist on repeat while you work on your latest piece of marketing.